Love Is Patient
by Mujitsu
Summary: A short one-shot of InuKag fluffness...sorta. Inuyasha pisses her off yet again, and he listens in on a conversation she has with herself, and realizes just how deep her love goes.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. That pleasure belongs to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi. I think she deserves a round of applause.

(Important **A/N**: Hi everyone, it's Mujitsu again. I just wanted to tell all of my readers that my other story, "Sesshoumaru, a Human?" has been kicked off of this site. There is more information at the bottom about it. However, I just felt like writing a short one-shot, so here it is. It's kinda fluffy, but not too much because I don't know if Inuyasha and Kagome admitting their love for each other can work in a one-shot. If it does work, I don't think I have the talent to write it. Oh, and as just a little tidbit, my friend told me this quote, and I think it really sets the mood.

_One day you asked me what I would rather have: you or my life. I replied that I would rather have my life. With tears in your eyes, you turned from me and walked away…not knowing that you were my life…_ Enjoy!)

Love Is Patient

"Kagome, is it done yet?"

"Inuyasha, for the last time, you have to wait three minutes before your ramen is finished."

Thirty seconds later…

"Kagome?"

"….."

"Kagome? Kaaaagoooommeeeeee…." Inuyasha sighed.

"Oi, wench!"

_I will not say "osuwari", I will not say "osuwari", I will not say "osuwari"…_Kagome thought to herself, trying to ignore the loud hanyou who was sitting across the fire from her. _But I swear, if he says my name one more time…_

"Kagome! Are you deaf? I'm talking to you, baka! The least you could do is answer the man who has saved your life countless times because you were too weak to do it by yourself-"

"Osuwari!"

THUD! "Oophm!"

_Whoops, so much for self-control_, she thought, looking at the silver-haired hanyou who currently found his face planted to the ground.

"What the hell was that for, bitch!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping up once the spell wore off.

"Are they ever going to get along?" Shippo whispered to Miroku.

"Not in this lifetime," the monk whispered back. He glanced at his dearest Sango, and noticed that her eyes were on the now fighting couple by the fire. Ahhhhh, the perfect opportunity…

Sango's eye twitched. "Hentai!" she yelled, decking the monk. He landed in a heap on the ground with a goofy grin and swirly eyes.

"Is he ever going to learn?" Shippo whispered to Sango.

"Not in this lifetime," she moaned sadly.

By now, Kagome and Inuyasha's shouts had escalated.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you arrogant baka!"

"Feh! You wouldn't last one day by yourself. Maybe if you were just a little bit smarter, and a little less stupid, I wouldn't have to save your scrawny ass from everything that tries to kill you!"

"I'm not perfect, Inuyasha."

"You've proven that time and time again, that's for sure." He winced as he noticed the hurt look in her eyes. Then she spoke calmly, which he always took as a bad sign.

"I'm sorry that I can't measure up to your standards, Inuyasha. Surely a pathetic human like me, who is only good for gathering jewel shards, can never meet the expectations of the great Inuyoukai, Inuyasha. Maybe it's better if I just left. Here is your stupid ramen," she finished, shoving the boiling cup of noodles at Inuyasha before she stood up and walked quickly away from the stunned group.

Inuyasha hissed as the boiling broth spilled over his hands and clothes. But he didn't call her back, knowing full well that he deserved what she did. He always ended up hurting her, no matter what he did. And he knew, he just _knew_, that she thought he was comparing her to Kikyo again.

"Inuyasha," Shippo growled, landing on Inuyasha's head and gnawing on his ears. "Why do you always have to make her go away? Baka, go after her!"

"Quiet, twerp," he snarled, flicking the kitsune off of his head with a flick of his finger. The kit landed in Sango's arms.

"Sango, make him go after her," Shippo whined.

"Why, so he can just make her feel worse?" Sango said icily. She usually had a high tolerance level for Inuyasha's insults, but she could tell that Kagome was really hurt by what Inuyasha had said.

"Feh!" Inuyasha said, sticking his nose in the air. "What do you two know about it?" He stood up, brushing noodles off of him as he went, and started to walk to a small stream that was a little ways from their camp.

"Stupid wench," he muttered to himself. "Wasting a perfectly good cup of ramen just because I told her the truth."

_But it's not the truth, _the annoying little voice in his head said. _You just said those things because you were angry again._

Okay, so he admitted to himself that he said things he didn't mean to when he was mad. His temper just always got the best of him, and things popped out before he could stop them. But he was right when he said she couldn't protect herself, so his argument wasn't completely unjustified.

_Liar,_ the stupid voice said again. _You were just angry because she basically said she didn't need you to protect her._

Inuyasha snarled to himself when he thought of that. Of course he was angry. How dare the stupid wench say that she didn't need him? If he left her alone, she would be miserable.

_You sure it's not the other way around?_ The voice taunted. _What would you do if she left you? Left you alone like everyone else has, even your own blood. Admit it, you're surprised she's stayed with you this long in the first place, and you wake up every morning only to look at her to make sure she hasn't left you in the night. You're afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize it was all a dream. _

His ears drooped a little at that thought. What would he do if Kagome left him? If he kept insulting her like he did a few minutes ago, she was sure to abandon him. Sure, Kagome was the most forgiving person he had ever known, but she could only take so much of the abuse that he threw at her. One day, she would leave him, whether it is of her own free will, or maybe when they finished the Shikon no Tama. Either way, she didn't belong here with him, a stupid, lowly half-breed who can't even find it in him to give her a compliment every now and then.

_You don't deserve her love…_

Love? She didn't love him. She _couldn't _love him. How could anyone? She had told him long ago that she would always be with him, but he knew the day would come when she would break that promise. Nobody could overcome destiny. It was his destiny to live a lonely, outcast life, hated forever because of his blood. Maybe that was why he always made her angry at him, to distance himself. For if she did truly love him, he didn't want her to be subjected to the shame and scorn that came out of loving a hanyou. Also, he knew the day would come when Kikyo would come and reap on his promise that he go to hell with her. He couldn't allow her to love him because he would only continue to break her heart. The beautiful heart that allowed her to see past all the hateful words against him and see the hanyou underneath, the fierce youkai and the gentle man all in one. He would protect her with everything he had, even from himself. From the love inside of him that he would never be able to voice to her, no matter how much he wanted to…

He started to reach the clearing where the spring was when he smelled her. Smelled her tears, smelled her sadness, and smelled her desolation. Automatically, he dropped into a crouch and peeked around the bushes that hid her from his sight.

She was sitting by the stream with her torso leaning on her knees, crying her eyes out. The sound tore at his heart, and the salty smell of her tears made his nose twitch. He hated it when she cried, and hated it more when he knew that he was the reason, as usual.

His ears swiveled in her direction when he heard his name pass her lips, and winced as it was followed by a sob.

Kagome was a wreck. She hated herself for being so weak, but she just couldn't help it. Inuyasha always knew the right words to push her buttons, and she had stormed off as usual. One of these days she vowed that she wouldn't be a coward, that she wouldn't run away whenever she was in a confrontation. That she would stop feeling so insecure and unsure around Inuyasha, and start being the confident girl that she knew she was. Somedays, she wished she could just forget that she ever loved the surly hanyou. Forget that she felt safe whenever he was around, that she was warmed whenever he gave her those gruff admonitions, forget his cute ears that drove her crazy with wanting to touch them. That there was ever a woman named Kikyo and a bastard named Naraku, and that one day she might be torn from this world to go back to the present. Forget the love that would never be returned to her.

"Kagome, you baka," she said out loud. "You've known since the beginning that he loved Kikyo and that you are just her stupid reincarnation. You just had to be dumb enough to fall for him, knowing that his heart and his soul were already taken. Maybe you should just give up…"

Inuyasha's ears drooped even more when he heard her anguished words. Was his inner voice right after all? Was she really going to leave him? He supposed it wouldn't be anything new…but still, knowing that even she would abandon him hurt him more than he would ever admit. He started to turn away and leave her, resolved to just take whatever fate decided to deal him, when he heard her soft whisper.

"But…" she said so lowly that even he had to strain to hear her. "Mother always told me that love is patient. She told me that true love lasts forever, so it can afford to wait. I've never really been a patient person…but…I think that for Inuyasha, I could wait forever. I will wait however long he wants me to, and if he decided that he doesn't want me, I will still wait for him. I just have to be patient…"

He heard her words, and his heart did a funny little flop. She would wait forever for him? How strange that those words filled him with such a feeling of power…a feeling of rightness. He watched her as she quickly rose and washed her face in the stream. Her shoulders set, she walked proudly and with a determined look on her face back to the camp. He waited until she was gone before he quickly took her spot by the stream and washed the ramen from his hands and clothes. The burns he received had already healed, and he felt like nothing could bring him down now.

Then he took to the trees and followed Kagome's delicious scent back to the camp. On the way there he found himself thinking…

_Just be patient a little longer, Kagome. Wait until the jewel is finished. Wait until Naraku is dead and I decide what to do about Kikyo. Wait for me…_he took a flying leap that brought him just a little bit closer to the woman who was his salvation from the world, and from himself…_wait for me to finally gain the courage to tell you that I love you…_

_And then your patience will be rewarded…Aishiteru, my Kagome-koishii…_

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Okay, so that's it! What did you guys think? There are two reasons why I wrote this one-shot. 1) I was bored. 2) My other story got removed, so for those of you that were reading my other story, "Sesshoumaru, a human?" gomen nasai! I guess that I can't post it on this site anymore, so I put it on under this same penname. Look for it there. Oh, and BTW, I love reviews. I don't care if it's months after I've written something, I still love them.(hint, hint) That means REVIEW people! Onegai? And here is the glossary if anyone was wondering:

Hentai- pervert

Aishiteru- an emotional "I love you"

Koishii- beloved

Gomen nasai- sorry

Onegai- please?

P.S: I am going to be posting another story on this site very soon. It is a Kag/Sess fic called. "For Richer or Poorer" so look for it soon!

Review, Review, Review!

Ja ne,

Mujitsu


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